Members of Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to sue the Dana Air over Sunday’s plane crash that claimed all the 153 lives on board.
The plane crashed at the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State at about 3:30 p.m.
Mrs Olatunji Edet (Oshodi Isolo II Constituency) made the call while contributing to a motion at a plenary session of the House in Ikeja. The motion was on aviation safety in Nigeria.
Edet blamed the crash on alleged negligence and ineptitude of the airline.
?“The Dana Air must be sued for negligence and ineptitude that claimed the lives of innocent Nigerians.
“It was learnt that the aircraft was faulty but the Dana Air management ordered it to take off from Abuja without any recourse to people’s lives.
“The airline must face the music; those who are culpable must be brought to book,” Edet urged.
She was contributing to the motion filed by Mr Saka Faunmi (Ifako-Ijaye I), urging the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the incessant plane crashes in the country.
Contributing, Mr Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu I) blamed the crash on ineffective implementation of policies in the aviation sector.
Olowo said that strict enforcement and implementation of the laws and policies governing aviation in Nigeria would improve standards and minimally reduce air mishaps.
He expressed regrets that Nigeria had suffered too many avoidable problems.
“In less than ten days, we have been mourning, not because God hates us, but because we are not sensitive to people’s lives and property.
“Many lives were lost to last week’s twin accidents on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; thereafter, the mother of all tragedies struck on Sunday.
“We beg the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to these ugly incidents because we cannot continue to fold our arms and watch people die like chickens,” he said.
Mr Moshood Oshun (Lagos Mainland II) said that sanctioning of an airline that compromised standards would serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Rasaq Balogun (Surulere I) attributed the crash to poor supervision of airline operations by the Ministry of Aviation.
In his contribution, Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji said that many local airlines lacked maintenance culture.
“The age of the aircraft is not the problem as agitated by many people, but lack of maintenance culture,’’ he said.
The lawmaker said aircraft were made to fly for as many years as possible but that local operators neglected their responsibility of maintaining the aircraft.
?“We need to talk to ourselves as Nigerians to know exactly what is wrong with us because it is virtually everything that we do wrong; if we do something right, it appears it happened by mistake,’’ he said.
The speaker expressed regrets that in the last 33 years, Nigeria had recorded more than 40 air crashes, even though air transport is believed to be the safest.
He said that the Sunday’s air crash, the motor accidents that happened last Thursday and last Friday on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Boko Haram bombing in Bauchi on Sunday could have been avoided.?
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